Fighting cancer? Pass sin tax – DOH

MANILA, Philippines – It’s not just about the money. It’s about health.

With this message, the Department of Health (DOH) urged the Senate to pass the sin tax reform bill.

In a statement on Monday, August 27, Health Undersecretary Ted Herbosa called on senators to view the bill in relation to its health benefits, particularly fighting cancer, and not just the money it will generate for the government. 

“This is not just a sin tax. This is an anti-cancer tax,” said Herbosa. “We expect the deaths from cancers to increase. If we do not act now, this could become a full-blown epidemic of early death for our workforce.”

The Senate has begun hearings on House Bill 5727, which aims to simplify and update excise taxes on cigarettes and liquor, generating an additional P33 billion a year for the national government.

Proponents of the bill in the chamber like Senators Franklin Drilon and Pia Cayetano have echoed the department, saying the bill ultimately aims to improve the health of ordinary Filipinos.

The ball is at the Senate now after the House passed in June its version of the sin tax bill, which President Benigno Aquino III certified as urgent. It was a historic vote, a feat previous administrations tried but failed to accomplish.

Herbosa said the sin tax bill will raise the prices of tobacco products, discouraging Filipinos from smoking. He said about half of Filipino men smoke, exposing them to greater risks of lung cancer. 

“This will leave many children orphaned early and will have a negative effect on our economic development. This will also cost the Philippines billions of pesos for health care, chemotherapy and palliative care. A major lung cancer epidemic could deplete our resources for universal heath care so we need to focus on prevention,” said Herbosa.

Cancer and more diseases

In the statement, the DOH said lung cancer is the leading form of cancer in the Philippines, attributed to high smoking rates, specifically among men. The DOH also cited a 2008 study that said 11% of deaths in the Philippines is related to cancer.

Herbosa said cigarettes contain 7,000 chemicals with every stick having 70 carcinogens or cancer-causing ingredients.

“Smoking is a leading cause of lung cancer but it can also increase the risk of other types such as cancer of the larynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas and the colon, and anus. Tobacco is one product that you wouldn’t want to get hooked into,” according to Herbosa.

Herbosa said that aside from cancer, smoking is also related to 3 other major causes of deaths in the Philippines: heart attack, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The undersecretary said the annual cost of these 4 leading diseases is P177 billion, a staggering amount compared to the P33 billion in revenues expected to be generated if the sin tax bill is approved.

Cut ‘deadly habit’

“This is not even enough to compensate for the burden that these diseases bring to our healthcare system not to mention the precious lives lost because of our high smoking prevalence,” Herbosa added.

The DOH estimates that the sin tax bill will reduce by two million the number of smokers by 2016. It said the country has the most number of smokers in Southeast Asia with an estimated 17.3 million tobacco consumers.

“We have a win-win solution here,” Herbosa said.

“By taxing tobacco, we can generate revenue for universal health care. At the same time, by increasing the price of tobacco to a point where youth and children cannot afford it, we are preventing young people from taking up this deadly habit.” – Rappler.com

 

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